Dogs sought in Brush pet and livestock attacks still at-large

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A second image of the dog. A second brown dog was also seen in the yard when the attack occurred. The dogs have not been located and are suspected to have killed several livestock animals in a spree of attacks on Cotton Street in Brush this week.

Photo courtesy of Morgan County Sheriff's Office

This photo was captured by the owner of a cat that was reportedly attacked and killed by this dog on Aug. 6. The dog is described as a pit bull terrier or mixed breed.

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office is searching for two dogs that are believed to have attacked and killed several pets and livestock while running at-large in and around Brush. Those dogs were still at large as of Friday afternoon.

On Aug. 6, the sheriff’s office received a call at about 1 a.m. that a dog had killed a cat on the step of a house on Dessa Street on the north side of Brush. A second dog was seen in the yard of the residence at the time.

On Tuesday, two dogs were observed attacking animals on Cotton Street at about 6:30 a.m. It was later discovered that those dogs had attacked several animals in the 700 and 800 blocks of Cotton Street. In total, 6 ducks, 12 chickens, 6 goats, a newborn pig and an adult pig have been reported as killed at different locations in that area.

The dogs are being described as pit bull terriers or, possibly, mix breeds.

One of the dogs is described as having black hair with white markings on its chest. That dog has also been described as having “longer hair” and “possibly floppy ears.” It has been seen wearing a red collar.

A photo of the black dog was taken by the owner of the cat killed on Dessa Street immediately after the attack and submitted to law enforcement.

Undersheriff Dave Martin said the sheriff’s department has spent a great deal of time searching for the dogs in the area the attacks, which is known as the Munn’s Addition subdivision. Martin said they have not located the dogs and believe their owner may now be hiding them. For this reason, Martin said he thinks it is safe for Munn’s Addition residents to go about their normal activities and said he thinks it is unlikely the dogs will be let out again to pose a threat.

“We have been in the area a lot, myself included, and the dogs are not running at-large and not out to be found,” he said. “I believe they are being secreted or put away by the owner of the dogs because they know what happened.”

Martin also said the sheriff’s office had received no reports of the dogs charging or attacking people. Still, Sheriff Jim Crone wrote in a sheriff’s office Facebook post on Friday that “if we don’t locate the dogs and they are able to roam, there is always a chance of a person being attacked, especially a child.”

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office has said that “there is no indication this is a ‘pack of wild dogs’ roaming the city. Crone wrote in a statement posted to Facebook that it is instead “more than likely” the dogs are pets who had been allowed to roam the neighborhood at night. It is against the law for dogs to run at-large in Brush. Crone wrote in his post that the dog’s owner could potentially be charged with ownership of a dangerous dog.

Martin said livestock owners can legally shoot animals that are attacking their livestock in “a country setting.

“Yes, there is a statute that allows dogs and animals wearying your livestock to be destroyed and to be shot,” he said.

However, he said shooting at animal in a more densely populated and occupied area such as Munn’s Addition could easily be considered reckless.

“What we mean by reckless part is the Munn’s Addition is a residential area within the county so it would not be safe to discharge a firearm within that area because of all the houses and the people in close proximity,” he said. “If you were out in a pasture somewhere in a wide open space and there’s a dog or something that’s wearying your livestock and you can shoot it safely, it’s legal to do so.”

Martin the issue of whether someone could face prosecution for shooting an animal in a residential area depends on the circumstances in which it is done.

“Well it depends on the manner that it was done and what was done but it is very dense, populated area and it would not be a smart decision to discharge a firearm in that area,” he said.

The sheriff’s office said that residents should call law enforcement about any attacks and let them handle the situation provided no humans are being attacked.

On Wednesday, the Brush Police Department also captured two pit bulls in the area of 120 Spruce Street in Brush after they were reported to be “actively attacking.” They were reported to have scaled a six-foot fence and were also seen being aggressive toward another dog inside a fence in the 200 block of Curtis Street. However, Brush police confirmed those were not the dogs responsible for the attacks in Munn’s Addition.

Paul Albani-Burgio writes features and covers entertainment, the arts and community events for the Loveland Reporter-Herald and Longmont TImes-Call. He came to Loveland from Fort Morgan, where he covered city and county government, crime and the ups and downs of the local sugar plant. He has also written for 5280 and Boston magazines and Bizwest. He is a fan of old movie theaters, Thai food and, despite their unwavering tendency to break his heart, the Mizzou Tigers.